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Asked to name the most important problem facing the country, just seven percent of respondents in the July Gallup poll said "natural disaster response/relief" -- a major drop off from the 18 percent who said the same in June. (In Gallup's May poll, just one percent named "natural disaster response" as the most important problem in the country.)

"Americans' reduced likelihood to see the spill as the top problem could reflect the reality that the spill is no longer 'new' news or perhaps that Americans are becoming more confident that they spill will be fixed," wrote Gallup poll director Frank Newport in a memo detailing the results.

Our money is on the former option laid out by Newport -- that the wall-to-wall coverage of the spill (as symbolized by the ever-present "spill cam") has effectively dulled the public's outrage about the spill.

It's not a new phenomenon. Coverage of wars often follows a similar arc; the public pays very close attention at the inception of the conflict but interest fades as the story plays out day in and day out via newspapers, websites and, most importantly, television.

With that fading of interest typically comes a cementing of public opinion about the rightness/wrongness or skill/ineptitude of the players involved.

If that blueprint is being followed in the Gulf, new polling from the Washington Post/ABC News should be alarming for the Obama Administration.

Just one in three (34 percent) gave a positive rating to the federal government's response to the spill while 65 percent offered a "not so good" or "poor" assessment of the handling of the environmental disaster.

(Of some solace to the Obama Administration: BP's handling of the spill is viewed even less positively with just 19 percent saying the company has done an "excellent" or "good" job.)

Context matters here.

That same July Gallup poll showed the economy as the overarching issue for most people with nearly two-thirds of respondents naming some aspect of it -- economy generally/jobs/unemployment -- as the most important problem facing the country.

The lone non-economic issue that ranks in double digits in the Gallup poll is dissatisfaction with politicians and the government (11 percent). Things like immigration (seven percent), the war in Afghanistan (three percent) and health care (seven percent) barely register.

What all of that means is that the fate of congressional Democrats this fall -- and, to a lesser extent, President Obama -- hinges on how people are feeling about the economy. That is THE top of the mind issue for most Americans.

The oil spill -- along with any number of other issues -- are secondary; that is, they could play a small factor in determining how someone votes but there is no sign they will displace the economy as the primary concern for most people heading into the ballot box

That doesn't mean, of course, that the spill -- and the public's current belief that the federal government responded poorly to it -- doesn't matter politically.

At the core of President Obama's brand is competency -- an ability to make the levers of government work properly and in the interest of the public. The oil spill has taken some of the shine off of that image but the president has the better part of the next two years to polish it anew.

Oh Chris: we all know that WAPO and you are in the bag for the Obamabots no matter the issues. I will bet that in the Gulf states, this ineptness of the spill will play electorally. BTW, every time Obama talks about the economy, energy, the Dow goes down. Today it is down as I comment, 200 pts. Business finally realizes that the socialist pacifist Dems are their enemies and America's enemies on their war against free enterprise and the market system that made America great. Many Americans will wake up sooner than later that we must use our huge domestic energy resources even if you , WAPO and Obama and His Dem minions want to destroy this with their nuttiness for extreme enviro liberalism.

Oh Chris: we all know that WAPO and you are in the bag for the Obamabots no matter the issues. I will bet that in the Gulf states, this ineptness of the spill will play electorally. BTW, every time Obama talks about the economy, energy, the Dow goes down. Today it is down as I comment, 200 pts. Business finally realizes that the socialist pacifist Dems are their enemies and America's enemies on their war against free enterprise and the market system that made America great. Many Americans will wake up sooner than later that we must use our huge domestic energy resources even if you , WAPO and Obama and His Dem minions want to destroy this with their nuttiness for extreme enviro liberalism.

I think this article is misleading. In the poll people are asked what the nation's most important problem is, just because many see the economy as a bigger problem, doesn't mean that people don't think the oil spill is still a problem. Besides, the real problem behind the oil spill is that the government is incompetent. I personally don't want more money going into 'disaster response' because I don't think the government even know's how to properly handle the money to prepare for disaster response! They would buy a bunch of toxic mobile homes for workers and victims, spray some toxic chemicals on the disaster and then let whatever company caused the problem do the clean-up at a fraction of the effort that is needed. New Orleans, 2 weeks after the hurricane, I gave my money in the red cross jars and still tens of thousands of New Orleans residents were without food water or medical care. I don't think I will ever trust the U.S. government to properly handle any disaster. It seems that all they can handle is putting on a facade that everything is okay and that we all still need this government for something, but really, what do we need the government for? What great service is all of this tax money going for? To kill brown people, allow the destruction of the ocean, try to force people to get immunizations, allow an FDA that allows toxic food, an EPA that appears to have no real concern for the environment or people, a money system that is based on faith alone... I really don't see greatness in the U.S. government, I see an unwise drunk belligerent moron of a country, I hope more people can wake up and realize that they don't need the government to give them a job, they just need to learn to make their own living, and learn to live naturally. We don't need oil, or food that comes from a box or GMO food or drugs or bank bail-outs. American Government, give me some land and go back into whatever perverted brain you came from. There are bigger problems than the oil spill, yes. These problems are deep beyond what any journalist seems to want to talk about because someone will say they are a 'quack'.

The only reason that the Gulf Oil spill was never an "issue" in the political arena was because the Democrap Socialist Party--controlled Main Stream Media kept the lid on it to protect Comrade Obama from any political fallout.
Pres. G.W. Bush would have been crucified in their massive and above the fold newspaper news reports, ed. pages, and evening news programs after a week. Comrade Obama though, not only has gotten a free pass from the MSM for any blame for his inept and incompetent handling of the oil spill aftermath, but after 87 days of crude oil spilling into the Gulf, screwing up everything in sight and causing massive damage to our eco system killing millions of birds, fish, and wildlife, the MSM's fix is still in place protecting this moron for his Keystone Cop-like stumbling and bumbling, by shifting all blame to BP and G.W. Bush. To listen to these Comrade Obama-worshippers try to spin this as the fault of everybody exept Comrade Obama, when everybody with a higher than their shoe size IQ knows and saw Comrade Obama's total incompetence in handling this disaster, is sickening.
About the only thing good that came out of this Gulf oil spill affair was that the Main Stream Media has proven, without a shadow of doubt, that they are not journalists, but advocates for Comrade Obama and the Democrap Socialist Party. The only real journalists that are still true journalists are employed by Fox News, and a very few other like them. The rest are just Democrap Socialist Party members working for their party. This oil spill affair proved how dishonest the MSM is and that they have no credibility reporting any news.

Perhaps the only real failure in this mess, AFTER the rig caught fire, was the lawyering up mentality thast seemed to strike everywhere at once and stayed there for more than a month. It was a disaster for BP and it hurt Obama nearly as much, even though the Government was about as open as it could force people who regularly keep their mouths shut for a living to be.

Had BP immediately begun explaining that they were organizing damage control centers in both Houston and Louisiana, and fed good corporate blurbs on a daily basis about engineering teams working on various solutions, it might have been seen as what it was, an Apollo 13 kind of total disaster avoidance operation that ended up, more successful than it might have. Each of the steps taken, in the order taken, seem to have been the appropriate next step, given the very valid first principle of troubleshooting, do the easy things first, both because they can usually be done while the harder things are being gotten ready, and because you feel quite idiotic when, having spent three days chasing wiring diagrams, you discover a blown fuse you could have checked immediately, even though the fuse blowing was totally unlikely in the circumstances.

It would at least have prevented the current republican pushed claim that the U.S. flatly refused all foreign help.

The Dutch skimming vessel arrived in the Gulf in incredibly fast time, all things considered, because it was dispatched immediately while the Government considered whether skimming only 90% of the oil from areas was all that good a solution. From an Oil Production consideration, because being able to skim and process, AND SELL 90% of the oil is economically useful, it is a good Idea. From an ecological point of view, keeping 100% of the oil together for pick up and disposal may be the better idea). Meanwhile A Whale came all the way from Korea, or at least from wherever it was working, a long way since it seems a bit big for Panama, and was tried, with less than spectacular results.

The Engineers seem to have done their jobs in a competent way. The non engineers want to be able to complain about Obama, and need no competency at all to do that, just any old excuse at all.

BZ to the Feds and BP.

OH, and by the way, BP turning over compensation to the Feds may save BP LOTS of money, since lots of the fishermen who might otherwise have pestered BP forever may be very reluctant to seek compensation from the Feds, because, to do so, they have to admit to a long history of tax evasion.

Perhaps the only real failure in this mess, AFTER the rig caught fire, was the lawyering up mentality thast seemed to strike everywhere at once and stayed there for more than a month. It was a disaster for BP and it hurt Obama nearly as much, even though the Government was about as open as it could force people who regularly keep their mouths shut for a living to be.

Had BP immediately begun explaining that they were organizing damage control centers in both Houston and Louisiana, and fed good corporate blurbs on a daily basis about engineering teams working on various solutions, it might have been seen as what it was, an Apollo 13 kind of total disaster avoidance operation that ended up, more successful than it might have. Each of the steps taken, in the order taken, seem to have been the appropriate next step, given the very valid first principle of troubleshooting, do the easy things first, both because they can usually be done while the harder things are being gotten ready, and because you feel quite idiotic when, having spent three days chasing wiring diagrams, you discover a blown fuse you could have checked immediately, even though the fuse blowing was totally unlikely in the circumstances.

It would at least have prevented the current republican pushed claim that the U.S. flatly refused all foreign help.

The Dutch skimming vessel arrived in the Gulf in incredibly fast time, all things considered, because it was dispatched immediately while the Government considered whether skimming only 90% of the oil from areas was all that good a solution. From an Oil Production consideration, because being able to skim and process, AND SELL 90% of the oil is economically useful, it is a good Idea. From an ecological point of view, keeping 100% of the oil together for pick up and disposal may be the better idea). Meanwhile A Whale came all the way from Korea, or at least from wherever it was working, a long way since it seems a bit big for Panama, and was tried, with less than spectacular results.

The Engineers seem to have done their jobs in a competent way. The non engineers want to be able to complain about Obama, and need no competency at all to do that, just any old excuse at all.

BZ to the Feds and BP.

OH, and by the way, BP turning over compensation to the Feds may save BP LOTS of money, since lots of the fishermen who might otherwise have pestered BP forever may be very reluctant to seek compensation from the Feds, because, to do so, they have to admit to a long history of tax evasion.

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the BP test has clearly shown, that, the BOP and everything under the BOP, have had NO oil leaking (since, both, was made, by design, to resist to very high oil pressures) while the wellhead top has been completely closed by the new containment cap (whose MAIN PURPOSE isn't to close the wellhead, but, later, to collect and pump up the oil and SELL it...) and, that, was PERFECTLY KNOW by BP also BEFORE this test
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THAT is what I've ALWAYS SAID in last TWO MONTHS in my article about the oil spill:
.http://www.ghostnasa.com/posts2/070oilspillsolution.html
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so, WHY hasn't BP used a modified version of its giant Genesis GXP 2500 idraulic shears (or the containment cap used now) to do the SAME THING but TWO MONTHS AGO and BEFORE the terrific disaster in the Gulf ?????????????????
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could FBI and the Press INVESTIGATE on that, instead of CLOSE their eyes ????????????
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I'm sure we're all hoping for the best, but don't break out the champagne yet. They have to monitor the pressure for several days after capping this leak. If the pressure is high, that's good---it means the leak is contained, at least for now. If the pressure drops, it means the pressure (and the oil) is escaping somewhere else, perhaps up through the sediment on the ocean floor from no one place in particular. That would be REALLY bad news.

It does not matter what any effing polls say. I don't care that it is finally maybe capped. I care about the damage ALREADY DONE and what will be done in the YEARS ahead to correct it. And I want BP held accountable for every last dollar it takes to make it right! If the company has to be liquidated to get the money to pay for all the costs, bye bye BP. My interest in seeing this accomplished will be the same 5 years from now as it is today! Plus, ditch the National Enquirer style headlines.

Stories like this are just an adjunct to the public relations campaign being waged by BP and the administration. If anything, the poll reflects the cynicism of the public to anything being said by either BP or the government.

The oil well may be capped, but unless we correct the underlying conditions that caused the spill, we are bound to find ourselves in the same predicament. Here are 10 lessons that we need to learn NOW:

The oil well may be capped, but unless we correct the underlying conditions that caused the spill, we are bound to find ourselves in the same predicament. Here are 10 lessons that we need to learn NOW:

The effects from this environmental disaster will last for a decade. The oil well may be capped, but unless we correct the underlying conditions that caused the spill, we are bound to find ourselves in the same predicament. Here are 10 lessons that we need to learn NOW:

Nearly 70 years ago, a far less scientifically sophisticated country developed the atomic bomb in three years. It could likewise surely mobilize to plug a leaking oil well in three months. But there is a need for crisis, a need to politicize, a reason for a permanent ban for drilling in the Gulf. And the people of the Gulf suffer the most while O parties on. At least he could have partied in the Gulf region.

I am hoping that the FIX's new format is NOT like the other formats whereby we are stucking in "loading" mode. If the forum is busy....."loading mode" can take a while..

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I bet the President will speak as to what must be done next and what he intends to do next. I hope he says something like "BP will put 400 billion more in the trust fund" for the "small people" (like Svanberg quoted).

Can you imagine. A fisherman who can't fish, is cleaning the beaches at $3000 a day....being paid by BP. But can't talk about it because of the gag order. He's working hard in the sun.......and may just be getting sick.

They have to pay the bills though,
ya know......so I can see where they would take the job.

leaving the job market means they fell off the unemployment rolls and can't be tracked anymore.

without the extension (back in the House), people are hurting already. Their unemployment has stopped. So no figures can be quantified as to if they left the job market. We know they left the unemployment rolls.

House wants to extend to Nov. 30th
Senate wants to extend to Dec. 31st.

wish they could agree on something.

BTW, I didn't post that entry twice. The system did.....some window with MOVABLE TYPE came up. What is with that????

February 25, 2010: While discussing the health-care bill, Nancy Pelosi declares, “It’s about jobs. In its life [health-care reform] will create 4 million jobs, 400,000 jobs almost immediately.”

April 23, 2010: Joe Biden, at a Pennsylvania fundraiser: “I’m here to tell you, some time in the next couple of months, we’re going to be creating between 250,000 jobs a month and 500,000 jobs a month.”

With so MANY failures in his stable, it is hard to pick just one for Obungler:

Everything Obama Learned About Fiscal Responsibility...

... he learned in Illinois State Government.

The state of Illinois -- broke, overleveraged, and still refusing to get its accounts in order -- is up to something interesting: selling bonds to meet its pension obligations. ... "States don't traditionally fund their pensions with debt," says CNN in a nice bit of understatement, "but the practice frees up other money that can be used for operations." The double whammy here is that Illinois's pensions are in trouble because it already spent the money it needed for its pension contributions in past years on other spending: Which is to say, Illinois is borrowing money it will have to repay eventually to repay the pension money it already spent to pay for other spending it couldn't afford then and can't afford now.

Sounds like Obamanomics to me.

You wonder how Obama learned to explode a crazy $400 Billion Bush Deficit into a psychotically insane Trillion Dollar Plus deficits while achieving nothing in the way of economic stimulation? He learned from the masters.

bobby- i agree - bye bye seafood
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on the immigration issue:
Today, in downtown Phoenix,(as we speak)--the first lawsuit against the state of arizona is being heard. It is from a police officer who filed the lawsuit....stating everything from the SUpermacy Law to the fact that it would put a strain on "the beat cop" and the "blue boys" (as I call them).....to do their job.

since the law doesn't take affect until July 29, some lawyers think the police officer will lose because he has no track record in place. As in, let the law take affect and then record data. See if the claims would be true, etc.

And I am saying...heck, use the data from Sheriff Joe Arapio and ICE and see how the pattern of racial profiling has taken place over 2 years. You'll get your track record of data to set the precedent.

It's even been admitted by local law enforcement that if an Irishman and a Hispanic man were side by side (in a bust or something), that they would be reasonable suspicious of ONLY the Hispanic. Some racial profiling, eh?

And Brewer, the governor by default, says there will be no racial profiling.
That's why they amended the bill to take the wording out.

Yeah, sure, right. Racial profiling will happen. AZ is famous for being racist.

And what I can't understand is why other states are following suit. We are the United States of America.
Federal law trumps state law.
State law does NOT trump federal law.

This entire story was typical BS by the press. the press does not give a rats arse about the gulf or its residents. They saw a chance to go after big oil and they did.

Trust me I am not defending BP - they should be indicted.

But here are facts not seen in the press.

Same week in south Texas same type blow-out valve blew on natural gas well on Boca Chica beach - the beach was closed for a week.

There is a dead zone in the gulf the size of Conn. Why? - Iowa - and we all know there is no politician in this country who will go after Iowa -

Iowa along with the rest of the corn and wheat belt dump tons of nitrates into the gulf through the run-off on the Miss. I it is killing the gulf.

During redtides you cannot get anywhere near the beach - the smell and hundred of thousands of dead fish.

Mr. AC360 where are you on that story? No where - so Mr. Anderson stopped your feigned shock over the oil - the gulf was dying long before BP. We all know the truth - you consider it a story because it is good copy - "bad oil company."

I live on the coast in Brownsville - I will never eat gulf seafood again (at least 10 years) for 2 reasons - one we have to allow the populations to recover and two 20 years since gulf war syndrome 1st discovered and no one can tell us how the oil caused the disease - it is Russian roulette to eat possibly oil tained fish and shrimp

You know, organizing First Responders to report to Area Response teams..
then have Area Response teams report to Regional Response Teams (4 regions are involved) and get all of them on the same page is hard.

Mobilized Coast Guard to take control. Brought in National Guard.

Took responsibility for it on Day 1 while meeting with Congress on Day 1 to get input. He knows the buck stops with him.

Got BP off their b****s to start helping the people affected.

Appointed Thad Allen and he doesn't take (*&^% from anyone. He gets the job done.

Got BP's Hayward out of the picture and Svanberg to dedicate 20 billion for "the small people".

Ordered more white suits for workers on the beach so they wouldn't get sick. We were running out of them.

Developing a third party claims process with Feinberg.

Overhauling MMS by getting Ken Salazar on the job.

Ordering all vessels possible to the scene

That's just a few of the processes President Obama put into play.

I tell ya again, it sounds like you all want President Obama to darn scuba gear and plug the whole with his finger.

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Not to mention, the President, during this oil spill, met with Russia's Medvev, Dominican Republic President, and Nethanyahu.
Also, got some campaigning for the Dems done.

He gets morning briefings from everyone involved in the oil spill.

This President has so much on the table, and all the entries I read on these forums are racist and demeaning to him. Show some respect, if any--at least, to the highest office in our land.
Try putting yourself in his shoes.

No one wants to admit that President Obama is good at infrastructure. Disasters taking place all over but still--hate is spewing.